


we've made it to the future (and it's so bright)

by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot)



Series: All for the Game Tumblr Prompts [12]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Happy Andrew Minyard, Post-Canon, Soft Andrew Minyard, Sparring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 01:20:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20574104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortheloveofcamelot/pseuds/Leahelisabeth
Summary: Renee and Andrew reunite after a long time apart.Tumblr prompt for je-suis-muffin.  "Jesus Christ, I forgot how much I hate exercise."





	we've made it to the future (and it's so bright)

Renee looked different. He missed the hair a little bit. She had shaved it all off for practicality while she was overseas and now that she was back for good, it was just starting to grow in, soft, fuzzy, and black as midnight. He wondered if she would go back to the rainbows now that she was returning to civilian life.

“Andrew? What are you staring at?” she asked softly, playing subconsciously with her empty left ring finger.

Andrew shook himself. “Nothing. I thought we were going to spar.”

Renee grinned wickedly. “Can you still keep up?”

Andrew didn’t bother answering, just launched into a flurry of quick punches that Renee dodged as gracefully as smoke. On the last one, she grabbed his wrist, whirled around and launched him over his shoulder. He was breathless for a moment but he was already moving, swiping with his leg and hoping to catch her off guard. She jumped over it easily and smirked at him as he sprung back up onto his feet. They continued like that until Andrew was breathless and his mouth tasted like copper pennies.

Eventually Renee took pity on him and they staggered off the mat to their usual corner. Renee twisted the cap off her bottle of water and they sat side by side, trading sips.

“Jesus Christ,” Andrew laughed when he had gotten his breath back. “I forgot how much I hate exercise.”

“I suppose your current job is a little less active than your former one,” Renee teased gently. “How is that going? Do you regret retiring?”

“Hell no,” Andrew said. “I’m not a junkie like some people I could name. Neil’s playing enough Exy for the both of us.”

Renee waited silently and Andrew realized he hadn’t answered the first part of her question.

“It’s good. It’s not easy though,” Andrew said softly.

Renee nodded and hummed, clearly expecting him to go on.

“I mean, I have definitely had the chance to make a difference for plenty of children. I placed one last week, a little girl who just turned five, and of course only time can really tell, but I would bet money that she just found her forever home.” Andrew grinned as he remembered the tears of joy on the little girl’s face as she hugged her new foster parents.

“But?” Renee asked.

“Well you know, sometimes my hands are tied. There are lots of kids who need a lot of love and patience that only a few foster families can provide and so they end up bouncing around the system until someone sees past the troublemaker to the heart underneath. And then there are the kids that are taken from their parents because of prejudiced neighbors or circumstances beyond their control and all I want to do is reunite them but my hands are tied,” Andrew said.

“That would be heartbreaking,” Renee said.

“Life would be so much easier if I still felt nothing.” Andrew grinned bitterly at her.

“You don’t actually believe that.” Renee shoved his shoulder. 

Andrew could feel himself grinning as he remembered exactly why he no longer believed that.

“You’re thinking about Neil, aren’t you?” Renee teased him.

“Oh my god, I’ve turned into such a sap.” Andrew buried his head in his heads. “I rub his feet and I tell him I love him. Last week I bought him flowers. What have I become?”

“You’re still you,” Renee said, “just healing. I always knew you’d get there someday.”

“I’m going to ask him to marry me,” Andrew said, a pond full of frogs hopping in his stomach as he said it.

“No,” Renee gasped. “Really?”

“Ring’s in my sock drawer just waiting for the right moment,” Andrew confirmed.

“I’m so proud of you.” She grinned warmly. Andrew had to duck his head and look away.

“Enough about me, how’s Patrick?”

Renee’s smile faded but didn’t disappear. “The doctors are saying he might live to be five now that he’s being properly treated. Two more years...but I’ll continue to have faith for more.”

“You know I’m always happy to help,” Andrew said.

“It’s not something a mother ever wants to hear, that her child has such a limited time on earth, but I feel so blessed to have him for now. Even five years is better than never having him at all.” Renee sighed and stretched her arms over her head.

“I’m really glad you’re back,” Andrew said.

“Me too. It was the right choice. Even before John left, he didn’t know how to be there for me. He’d been pulling away for years and everything with Patrick just brought it all to a head. But now I have a real support system,” Renee said softly.

“Are you talking about the Foxes? Or Allison?” Andrew winked at her.

Renee swatted him on the shoulder. “I’m talking about all of you.”

“But things are going well?” 

Renee smiled softly. “There is a lot we need to move past. Allison is bringing a lot of baggage into it and I’m not free of that either. But I think all we’ve needed is time and now we’re going to have it.”

“Good,” Andrew said. “That’s really good. Do you remember the first time we ever sparred?”

“Of course I do,” Renee said. “How could I forget? I had no idea who I was, just who I wanted to be, and I had so much anger and pain to work through.”

“And I was drugged out of my mind and trying so hard to just feel something,” Andrew said. “I sometimes wonder what my older self would have thought if I told him that someday he would be here, healing, about to propose to a man he loved...happy. I don’t think he would have believed it.”

“I hoped we would. I tried to have faith we would,” Renee said. “But this is more than I thought possible.”

Andrew nodded and they lapsed back into silence. 

Eventually Renee looked at her watch. “Same time next week?” 

Andrew got to his feet and held out his hand to help her up. He held it for a moment longer than was necessary. “Same time next week.”


End file.
